Assessing the Efficacy of Diversity Trainings on Intercultural Competence Among Preservice Teachers

• In Event: Discussing the Implications of Culturally Competent and Responsive Teaching

Abstract

Diversity trainings have become increasingly popular as organizations react to pressure to respond to local and global events. To be responsive to this shift school systems, state licensure boards, and Teacher Preparation Programs have added diversity training to their requirements. However, such trainings can be time-consuming and costly and their impact is not yet established. The goal of this study is to determine if training intervention level (low, medium, or high) influences pre-service teachers’ change in intercultural competence. Using the Intercultural Development Inventory as a pre- and post-test to each intervention, results indicate that all interventions provide a statistically significant increase in cultural competence, but both duration and type of intervention plays a role in magnitude level of increase.

Authors

• Sarah E Cribbs, Randolph-Macon College

• April D Hennis Marchetti, Randolph-Macon College

• Savanna M. Love, Randolph-Macon College